Always You
by what-the-ship
Summary: The Senju Clan has lived on after the deaths of the first and second Hokage. Now, they are part of the discussions on what to do with the Uchiha Clan. With a revolt on the horizon, the elders of the village set an arranged marriage between the clans. Instead of a massacre, peace is brought to the clan. This is the story of a Senju and an Uchiha finding love beyond what's arranged.
1. Introductions

This morning I was taken to meet with an old man. My father kept calling him Grandpa. My mother would quickly hit his shoulder and call him out on how rude he was being before calling him 'Hokage'.

I'm assuming that's what this ninja village called their kage. I mean, we've only been here for a few days, only finished unpacking last night. We lived in Sunagakure with their Kazekage last week… I don't understand why we moved. I had friends and I had just started at the ninja school… My dad says I'll understand when I'm older, but I'm already 6. How much older do I need to be?

"Tsukiko?" I was broken from my thoughts and I looked up at the man sitting at the desk in front of us. "Would you like me to show you our ninja school?" he continued, with a smile. I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head. His smile dropped into a confused expression in seconds.

"Sorry Grandpa, but she hasn't really had the best of experiences at school." my father stated. He stepped forward and set a hand on my head, ruffling my light brown hair. I backed away and gapped up at him before trying to straighten my messed up hair. Mom spent all morning trying to make it look nice. She had braided it in a pair of french braids and now I understood why.

"What do you mean?" the Hokage asked.

"The other kids usually bully her." my mother explained. I really wish I could cover my face with my hair, but my mom had pulled it back so I couldn't. Showing off my blue, left eye and green, right eye. "In the last village they would accuse her of being cursed because of her heterochromatic eyes. She only got close with the Kazekage's kids because Shota worked with them." my mother continued.

"She was also behind in her studies because she couldn't…" my father suddenly stopped and I looked up at him worried. He kneeled down beside me and squeezed my shoulder lightly. "Because it took me so long to invent the right technology so that she could learn like everyone else."

"What if I got the brightest student from your class to escort you through your day? You can introduce yourselves and he can escort you through your day. He can catch you up on what you've missed, and make sure no one bullies you." the Hokage offered. I turned to look up at my parents who looked back at me and waited for me to answer.

"... Okay." I answered hesitantly, but my answer brought a smile back to the Hokage's face.

"Alright." the Hokage raised his hand and beckoned over a man with an animal mask. He whispered to him before the man disappeared, jumping out the window. After a moment the man came back.

"They should arrive here shortly." Then, with that, we waited. It didn't take long for them to arrive.

It ended up being a boy about my age and what looked to be his older brother. They both had black hair and black eyes. The older boy wore a leaf headband and had long hair hanging at the back of his neck in a ponytail. His bangs framed his face and he had a pair of pronounced tear-troughs on his cheeks. The younger boy was smiling and wore shirt with tall neck. He had spiked hair with bangs framing his face, and as he walked towards the Hokage with his brother it began looking like a duck's butt.

"Good morning, Lord Hokage." the older boy spoke as he bowed. "You summoned us?"

"I'd like you two to meet Tsukiko." the Hokage stood and pointed them toward us, where we stood on the opposite side of the room. "She just moved her from Sunagakure, and will be starting in Sasuke's class today."

"Really?" the younger boy smiled and walked over to me. I quickly stepped behind my mother's leg, hiding half my face. "My name's Sasuke, and I'll be turning 7 in a few months." He tried to look around my mother's leg at me and I quickly hid my face. "How about you?"

"Come on, Tsukiko." my mother urged as she stepped out of the way. I quickly covered my face with my hands.

"Your name's Tsukiko, right?" I could hear Sasuke step forward and then he placed his hands on my wrists. "I'm not scary I promise." I then let Sasuke remove my hands from my face. He then looked directly into my eyes and I watched as his expression changed. He released my hands and I prepared myself to hear what he had to say.

"Hey, Itachi! Come look at her eyes." My gaze dropped to the floor as he turned and walked over to his brother, dragging him over to us. Once they were both back to me, the older boy kneeled. "They're cool, right?" My head snapped back up and I stared at the boy in front of me. Itachi stared at me for a moment longer before speaking.

"Your eyes are very beautiful." Itachi then reached forward and placed his hand on my head. "Now, why don't I take you two to school?" I nodded and Itachi stood up. Sasuke then grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the room with Itachi following after.

"I've never met anyone with different colored eyes before." Sasuke smiled as we walked in pace. "I mean, Itachi's eyes can turn red, but that's because of the sharingan."

"Sharingan?" I asked, trying to keep up with how fast the boy was walking. We quickly left the Hokage's building.

"Yeah, the sharingan is a blood trait of the Uchiha clan." Sasuke continued.

"And it makes your eyes turn red?" I continued to ask.

"It does much more than that." Itachi added.

"What are these?" Sasuke suddenly asked and I felt his hand graze my ear. I quickly reached up and grabbed his wrist. He gave a confused look to my reaction.

"... They're hearing aids. They're fragile. Please don't touch them." I ordered as I released his wrist and started walking again.

"Hearing aids? What do they do?" Sasuke questioned as he moved to keep up.

"They help me hear because my ears stopped working when I was younger." I explained as we entered a new building.

"Did you have an accident or something?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah… when I was a baby." I answered as we came to a stop at a door.

"Well, have a good day at school." Itachi told us before opening the door in front of us.

"Sasuke, you're late." the teacher immediately announced as Sasuke walked into the room. I remained where I stood and watched.

"Yeah, sorry. The Hokage summoned Itachi and I so we could escort this girl here.

"And who's this?" the teacher turned his attention to me and I felt my entire body freeze.

"Go on in." Itachi nudged me forward. I took a hesitant step forward into the room, so that everyone could see me.

"Now, what's your name?" the teacher asked as he walked over. "I'm Iruka-sensei."

"My name's Tsukiko. Tsukiko Senju."

* * *

 **Hey! It's what-the-ship here!**

 **First and foremost,**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.**

 **This is my first story. I know this chapter is short. The chapters should start getting longer, I just thought it best to end this one here.**

 **Please leave a review! I'd love to know what you think of it so far. I know there's not much to go on, but I'm down to hear anything.**

 **Except for hate. Please don't do that to anyone who had enough confidence to post their stories. You don't know what they've had to go through.**

 **Thank you for reading my first chapter. I guess you could consider it more of a pilot if anything.**

 **See ya with the next chapter!**


	2. Making Friends

"It's time for lunch! Please stay on school grounds, and be back to class in an hour." On that note we all watched Iruka-sensei leave the class.

As soon as the door slid closed, the room exploded with conversation. I looked around nervously, unsure of what to do. Was I supposed to bring a lunch? What if I didn't? Was there somewhere I could get food? I didn't have any money for food though? What was I supposed to do?

"-kiko. Tsukiko!" I was broken from my thoughts by a hand in front of my face. I followed the hand to its owner and found Sasuke looming over me. "Do you have a lunch?"

"... No." I shook my head. My gaze dropped down to my lap where I was fiddling with my thumbs.

"Well, Itachi gave me some money so why don't I buy you something?" Sasuke smiled.

"You don't have to." I quickly said, waving my hands in front of me. "I'd feel bad since it's your money."

"Well, I'd feel bad if you went hungry on your first day of school." Sasuke declared, placing his hands on his hips.

"... Okay." I gave in.

"I'll be right back then." Sasuke grinned before running off. I remained in my seat for a moment before I was suddenly surrounded by girls. I quickly brushed my bangs so they covered my right eye.

"Your name is Tsukiko, right?" a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"How'd you get so close with Sasuke?" a girl with pink hair and green eyes questioned.

"Sakura, calm down." a girl with dark red hair and blue eyes. My eyes lingered on her. She had pinkish marks on her cheeks and chin, just like mine. My dad had them too. He said that they're from my great great grandfather and that…

"What's your name?" I asked the dark haired girl, inadvertently ignoring the other two.

"Minako Senju." she smiled at me.

"Your both from the same clan, but you've never met?" the blonde asked.

"My dad told me that they moved here from Sunagakure." Minako answered.

"Oh, that's cool!" the pinkette exclaimed.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka by the way." the blonde smiled.

"And I'm Sakura Haruno." the pinkette added. After a moment she continued. "How did you get so close to Sasuke?" Sakura leaned forward so her nose nearly touched mine.

"Back at it again." Minako groaned.

"I-I don't know what you mean." I stuttered as I leaned as far away from her as I could.

"Well… he walked you to class and he's getting you lunch." Sakura mumbled, beginning to play with her fingers.

"Sakura's just being jealous. Every girl here likes Sasuke." Ino told me.

"Is he really that special?" I asked.

"Of course he is! He's really cute, and he's the best student in class, and-"

"We get it, Sakura." Minako interrupted.

"Minako's not too impressed with him either." Ino stated.

"We're seven! I mean, I think he's pretty cool. My mom says that at this age I shouldn't like anyone, and if I do it's because I want to be their friend." Minako explained.

"I guess that makes sense." Sakura suddenly commented.

"Hey, give her some breathing room!" We all looked over to a boy with brown hair, red triangles on his cheeks.

"We're just trying to get to know her, Kiba." Ino countered.

"It sounds more like you guys talking about Sasuke." I turned to look up at the boy sitting at the desk behind me. His hair was tied up so it looked like the top of a pineapple.

"Shikamaru has a point." the boy sitting next to the pineapple haired boy said. He had red swirls on his cheeks and was eating from a bag of chips.

"Yeah, let us talk to her for a bit!" We all looked forward at the boy standing at the desks below us. He had spiked blonde hair, blue eyes, and… whisker marks on his cheeks.

Yeah! I'm Kiba Inuzuka." the boy triangles on his cheeks announced.

"This is such a drag." the pineapple haired boy grumbled as he laid his head on his arms.

"I'm Choji Akimichi." the swirl cheeked boy smiled. "And this is Shikamaru Nara."

"And I am Naruto Uzumaki. You better believe it!" the blonde before us shouted. Then all eyes were back on me.

"O-Oh… I'm Tsukiko Senju, but you guys already know that." I mumbled the last part.

"So, where you from Tsukiko?" Kiba asked as he took the seat to my left.

"I just moved here from Sunagakure." I answered.

"Did you get lots of sand in your clothes?" Choji piped up.

"That's a weird question to ask, Choji." Ino declared.

"I dunno. I feel like that would be a big problem." Sakura commented.

"They'd obviously have ways to deal with it though." Kiba said, leaning back in his chair.

"You don't like talking much do you?" I turned to look up at Shikamaru as everyone else continued arguing over clothing.

"Not in large groups." I mumbled quietly.

"Well, you'd get along with Hinata." Shikamaru told me as he pointed to the girl next to him. She had pale, nearly colorless, eyes and purple hair.

"Hi." Hinata waved timidly as she smiled a little. I waved back and gave a similar smile.

* * *

The day finished and I soon found myself walking home with Minako and Ino. Shikamaru and Choji had gone off one way from the school. Kiba and and another boy, I think they said his name was Shino Aburame, went off the opposite way. Hinata had met up with an older boy named Neji and they had split off our path not too long ago. Sakura and Naruto had done with same a little earlier, going off separately in opposite directions. Then Sasuke had met up with his brother Itachi to train somewhere.

"So where exactly do you live?" Ino asked, her hands reaching up to rest at the back of her head.

"It's right next door to this place with big white walls." I explained.

"Oh, that's probably the Hyūga Compound." Minako commented. "It's just around the corner." Then, just as she said, we turned the corner and found the big white walls.

"My house is just down the road from here. Right above my parents flower shop." Ino stated as we continued walking to find my house.

"Mine's down the road in the opposite direction from Ino's." Minako added.

"Didn't we pass your house then?" I turned to ask Minako.

"Yeah, but I'm not really ready to go home." Minako shrugged. "Would it be alright if I came to your house? My parents will want me to introduce myself to your parents sooner or later."

"Okay." I nodded as the house came into sight.

"I wanna see your house too!" Ino exclaimed happily.

"Sure, it's right here." I smiled as we stopped in front of a house.

It was two levels, but it wasn't very wide. There was an eave over the front door and an open space above that. The house actually stretched to the left of the door.

"Really?" Ino awed as I opened the door and let them in. Both of them immediately came to a stop.

The front door was more of a gate that led back to the actual entrance into the house. The path was made out of stone and against the left wall were different flower bushes of varying kinds. At the far end of the path was a bird house with four levels and four rooms on each level, each with its own hole entrance. Hummingbirds buzzed in and out of the bird house to the different flowers. As soon as they saw us, most of them moved back into the house and the bushes near it. This allowed us to get to the actual front door, which was halfway between the front gate and the hummingbird house, without disturbing them.

Ino and Minako followed me into the house where we slipped off our shoes in the front entrance and stepped up into the main floor. The side of the house towards the street had the living room. The living room currently had a bookcase, a low sitting table, some cushions, and boxes. The side of the house away from the street had the kitchen. It had the fridge, stove, oven, and counter space at one end of the room. The other end of the room had a booth style dining table with a window looking out at the hummingbirds. There were a couple of unfolded and empty boxes sitting on the dining room table. Directly across from the entrance was the bathroom and the stairs. The bathroom had a two separate spaces. You had to go through the first part to reach the back space that had the bathtub. The bathroom also still had boxes all over the place. The stairs exited into the living room and entered into a hall on the second floor. Connecting all of the main floor was a single hallway.

The second floor had a hallway and three bedrooms. My room was the bedroom with a window looking out at the street. My parent's room was at the opposite side of the house above the kitchen. It sat directly in front of the entrance to the stairs. The third room was currently filled with a few other boxes we had yet to unpack. The bedrooms were nearly completely unpacked though, and my dad took great pride in that since he had done all of the bedrooms alone while my mom and I had dealt with the kitchen.

"There are still boxes in the living room and upstairs, but we're mostly unpacked." I explained as I walked towards the kitchen. "I can make a snack if you guys want?" I asked as they followed.

"Do you have any fruit?" Minako questioned as she ran over and took a seat at the table.

"My dad went shopping yesterday so we should." I answered as I pulled the stool over so I could reach the bowl on the counter.

"I'll have an orange!" Minako exclaimed happily.

"Do you have any cherry tomatoes?" Ino asked. I thought about it for a moment before pointing at the fridge.

"You might find some in there." I told her before grabbing Minako's orange. I then climbed down and followed Ino. She found some cherry tomatoes while I grabbed some strawberries. We then went and sat with Minako at the table.

"So where are your parents?" Ino asked between tomatoes.

"My parents said they were meeting with some group of old people and clan leaders." I answered after swallowing the bite I had taken.

"Clan leaders, must be important." Minako mumbled as she focused on peeling off the skin of her orange. Then she suddenly looked up from the orange, her eyes focusing on the opposite wall. "Actually, my dad said he was going to some kind of meeting with the Hokage too." Ino looked like she was going to speak, but was stopped by the sound of a door.

"We're home!" I heard my father call.

"In the kitchen!" I called back. There was a shuffling sound and soon my dad appeared followed by my mom.

My dad had red hair and green eyes. He had the Senju markings and a somewhat tan skin tone. He was wearing a suit today with his hair slicked back. My mom had light brown hair, purple eyes, freckles, and a lighter skin tone than my dad. She wore a green dress that hung off her shoulders with a brown vest. Her hair had been tied up into a pair of buns with a braid around the base. Aside from the freckles, I looked a lot more like my mom than my dad.

"And who are these?" my mom asked, a smile splitting across her face.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka." Ino smiled back. "It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Minako Senju." Minako waved.

"Oh, so you're Kazuki's daughter." my dad began as he sat down next to me. "He told me a lot about you over lunch."

"You're my dad's brother?" Minako questioned.

"Well, he's got the Senju marks." my mom stated. "So, I suspect that you two are in Tsukiko's class?"

"Yup!" Ino and Minako replied before beginning to eat again.

"I'm glad she's made some friends. She had a hard time in Suna-"

"Mom!" I interrupted. Ino and Minako both looked at me and I quickly covered my face with my hands.

"Why did she have a hard time?" Ino asked as she stopped eating.

"People just made fun of her for eyes and ears." my dad explained vaguely.

"Her ears look fine to me." Minako declared before finally eating a slice of her orange. This caused Ino and both of my parents to start laughing. I had to stifle a laugh as well.

"What?" Minako stated as she looked at us as if we were all crazy.

"It's not her ears, that was just Shota being vague." my mom giggled as she pushed the side of my father's head playfully. "She had a lot of trouble learning when she was younger because she went deaf after an accident. Shota made devices that'll help her hear better, but he didn't complete them until she was 3. So, she was behind in her education and the other kids made fun of her for that." By now my hands had fallen into my lap, and that's where my gaze rested.

"Really!? I couldn't even tell!" Minako awed.

"We had a pop-quiz today and she totally got a higher score than I did!" Ino cried out, throwing her head back in the process. A second later she had smacked her head down on the table which caused everyone to laugh.

"So I wasn't seeing things!" Minako suddenly shouted, cutting off our laughter. "You're eyes are different colors! I thought I saw it earlier, but I wasn't sure. That is so cool!" Minako proclaimed as she slammed her hands on the table and stood up so she could lean over the table and stare into my eyes. I felt my cheeks heat up and I quickly hid my face.

"Is that why they made fun of her eyes? Because they're different colors?" Ino questioned. "Because I think it looks really pretty." Ino smiled at me as I looked at her between my fingers.

* * *

"Did you have fun today?" my mom asked as she stood in the doorway of my bedroom with my dad behind her.

"Yeah, all the kids were really nice." I smiled.

"I'm glad you're making friends." my dad grinned back. "Also, we should stop by Ino's house more often. When I was walking them home it looked like her mother ran the flower shop just under their house."

"That'll be nice. Maybe we could get some new flowers for our hummingbirds." my mom thought aloud as she stared back into my father's eyes.

"If you're gonna kiss, then go away. I need to go to bed so I can get up early for school tomorrow." I ordered.

"Well, okay then." my dad smiled. He walked over and kissed my head before tucking me in.

"Good night, Tsuki." my mom said before switching the light off. She then slid the door closed after my dad walked out.

I think everything will work out here. I was able to make friends and, according to Ino, I'm doing good in my classes. I just have to hope that everything works out here and we don't end up moving again. Or just hope that nothing bad happens.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I'm back with a new chapter!**

 **I know it seems to be going really slow, and I kinda agree.**

 **It will begin to pick up soon, I just really want to build some ground work first.**

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter. I liked trying to write everyone when they're younger.**

 **Please leave a review. I'd like to hear what you guys have to say!**

 **Thank you for reading.**

 **See ya next time!**


	3. Respecting Your Elders

Today was my first day off from school… and my parents are spending the entire day at a meeting! They said we would hang out and check out some of the places in town for lunch and shopping, but no.

"Tsukiko, come on. We know we promised, but they won't let us get out of it." my mother pleaded from the other side of the locked bathroom door.

"No! I'm leaving this room! If I do then you'll finish getting ready and leave me." I shouted back.

"Why don't you go to the park and hang out with Ino and Mariko?" my dad suggested. "You could even go to Mariko's house and get ready for the party tonight."

"Party?" I questioned. I opened the door just a crack so I could see both of my parents.

"Yeah. The village elders are hosting a party for the major clans to get acquainted with us. They even said you could bring one friend." my mother answered.

"Can I bring Mariko?"

"Well, she's already going since she's part of our clan." my father explained.

"Is Ino already going too?" I asked.

"Nope." my mother popped the 'p'.

"What? Why not?" I threw open the door and stared up at them as I questioned.

"Well, why don't you go get ready and invite her?" my dad suggested.

"Okay!" I nodded before running out of the bathroom and upstairs to get ready.

"It worked." I heard my dad whisper as I turned the corner.

"Wait a minute." I quickly spun back around and ran to the bathroom. I watched as my parents slid into the bathroom and slammed the door in my face. "That's no fair!" I shouted as I pounded on the door.

"Is too! You left and we took your spot." my dad shouted back.

"Now go get ready." my mom added.

"Fine." I grumbled before sticking my tongue out at the door. I then ran upstairs to get ready.

* * *

"Good morning, Mrs. Yamanaka. Is Ino home?" I asked as I walked into the flower shop. "She should be upstairs in the kitchen. I heard Inoichi making pancakes."

"Pancakes?" She smiled and nodded before opening the door to the back. I soon found myself running up the stairs, the smell of pancakes becoming more prevalent.

"You wouldn't mind watching Tsukiko today would you?" my mother asked Mrs. Yamanaka once I was out of earshot.

"Not at all. She spends so much time at your house that it's about time I return the favor." Mrs. Yamanaka replied.

"Oh, we'd also like to invite her to a party tonight. Tsukiko would really like her to come." my father continued.

"I'd have to talk to Inoichi, but I think she'll have a lot of fun." Mrs. Yamanaka smiled before waving my parents good-bye.

"Tsukiko! There's no way you can eat all of those!" Ino shouted as she pointed at the plate in front of me that was stacked high with pancakes.

"I'm a growing child." I stated. "And I left plenty for your parents so just watch me."

* * *

"They're gonna laugh at me!" I whined as I fought my mother. Despite my efforts she managed to tie my hair back.

"I think you look prettier than I do." Ino declared. She wore a purple dress that had long sleeves and a circle skirt that reached her knees. Her hair was pinned on one side and framed her face nicely.

"Nu-uh! You're way prettier than me in just that simple dress." I countered, my eyes falling on my reflection. The dress was a lilac color with a sleek top, a white belt, and a skirt surrounded by a layer of tulle. My mom had braided my hair so that it wrapped around my head and rested on my left shoulder. "I don't like dresses." I grumbled to myself.

"Well, I say you both should smile." my dad announced as he walked into my doorway. "It'll make you both look even prettier."

"Okay!" Ino and I nodded.

"Now let's get going. The Hyūga clan was nice enough to offer up a building in their compound for the event. So, we shouldn't be late." my mom told us.

"Let's go!" Ino cheered as she ran out of the room followed by my mom.

"You ready?" my dad asked once they were gone down the stairs.

"Is it gonna be a bunch of old people?" I questioned.

"Of course not. There are gonna be other kids your age. Even some from your class." my father explained.

"Do you think they'll like me?" I continued worriedly.

"I think they'll all adore you. If they don't, which I _highly_ doubt, then you already have Ino and Mariko and I think a few close friends is always better than a ton." my father answered.

"Okay." I nodded before grabbing his hand and dragging him out of my room. "Now, hurry up! Mom said we don't want to be late!"

We made our way out of the house and to the entrance of the Hyūga Compound. It was much bigger than I expected and we were led to a house towards the entrance. It looked like it had been mostly cleared out for the event. There was lots of open space to walk around and talk, especially since most of the walls had been slid out of the way or temporarily removed. There was even a small garden like space with a pond at the center of the house. Food had been set out and a group of people were off in one corner of the house playing music. As people began to show up, I found myself lingering in one of the corners. Off away from the other people with Ino.

"Rock, paper, scissors." Ino and I chanted, stopping after each time to see what we had.

"Yes! I win 15 to 10." Ino laughed as she suddenly stood up and did a little party dance.

"Rematch." I declared. She smiled down at me before plopping down and getting her hands ready to play.

"And what are you fine ladies doing in the corner?" We both stopped and looked up at the man towering over us. He didn't look nearly as old as everyone, but he still looked old. He wore a black suit with a red tie and would have looked very fancy if it weren't for his messy black hair that matched his black eyes.

"Rock, paper, scissors." We both said simultaneously.

"Mind if I join?" We both shook our heads as he took a seat beside us.

"Rock, paper, scissors."

"Ah, I lost!" the man cried in an obviously joking manner. He then fell back and covered his eyes.

"No you didn't." Ino stated.

"What?" In seconds he was back up in a sitting position looking at our hands.

"You had scissors, Ino had paper, and I had rock." I explained. "So it's a three way tie."

"Wow, you girls are smart." the man grinned "My name is Shisui Uchiha, what's yours?"

"My name's Ino Yamanaka." Ino grinned back.

"My name's Tsukiko Senju." I replied.

"Well, would either of you like to-"

"Tsukiko!" As I turned I was suddenly tackled, dark red hair flying into my face. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Minako? How long have you been here?" Ino questioned as I was finally able to sit back up, arms still wrapped around my shoulders.

"Like ten minutes." Minako replied.

"Well we've been here this entire time." I told her.

"Really!?" Minako shrieked in my ear.

"Ow!" I shrieked back as a shrill went through my hearing aid.

"Oh, sorry about that." Minako mumbled as she removed herself from my shoulders and sat between Ino and I. "Wait, a minute. Who's he?"

"Shisui Uchiha." Ino and I said in sync.

"You're an Uchiha?!" Minako asked, suddenly lunging forward. She was suddenly running around him spouting off questions like "How old are you? Are you friends with Sasuke? Where's your crest? Are you a ninja or a police officer?" while searching his clothes for something.

"Minako, leave him alone." We all turned to see Sasuke and Itachi walking over to us. They both wore suits with red ties, just like Shisui. Itachi and Sasuke's hair looked the same, but it still looked nicer than Shisui's.

"Hey! The brothers are finally here!" Shisui cheered.

"You're back from your mission, Shisui. It's nice to see you." Itachi stated as came to stop beside said man.

"Yeah, got back like an hour ago. Barely had time to shower." Shisui chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"That's so gross." Sasuke declared, stepping away from Shisui.

"Hey! I said I got to shower!" Shisui stated, suddenly standing up. The three Uchihas quickly got into a discussion and I leaned forward, Minako and Ino quickly doing the same.

"Why don't we sneak away and go get some food?" I asked, earning quick nods. We all stood up and quickly ran off into the people, going unnoticed by the three boys we ditched.

We managed to get to the table full of food and began piling a few plates high. We walked over to one of their short tables and set down our plates. Minako quickly ran back off to get us drinks while Ino ran off to get desert. I was then left to watch our table and food. Suddenly a hand was placed on my shoulder and I spun around to see my parents.

"We finally found you." my dad declared as he swept me up into my arms.

"We'd like you to meet someone." my mom quickly added. I then noticed an old man standing next to us. He had orange eyes that had been dulled with age and light brown hair that was filled with white hairs. He had a light skin tone and marks on his face just like my father, Minako, and I.

"You've got marks." I stated as I pointed at his face.

"Why, yes I do it seems." he snickered to himself. "Do you know why that might be?"

"You're a Senju, right?" I asked and he nodded. "Really!?" I exclaimed.

"I'm your great great grandfather, Ryuu." the older man introduced himself. "Now, do you know why we have these marks?"

"Uh… yes…?" I hesitated as I looked at my father. I quickly shook my head a second later. "No… I don't remember."

"Well, it came from my father, Tobirama Senju." he told me.

"He's got a face on the cliff, right? We learned about him in class." I smiled at how well I was able to connect the name.

"That would be correct. Your friends are back, so I guess I'll talk with you more some other time." he smiled at me before walking off. My dad then set me down and both wandered away, leaving me with Minako and Ino.

"Who was that?" Ino questioned.

"That was Grand Papa. He's an elder in the village because he was Tobirama's son." Minako explained. "He and the Hokage are like best friends."

"That's cool." I awed as I took a seat.

"We've found you." Shisui almost sang. He was followed closely by Itachi and Sasuke. "Now we'd like to take you fine ladies out for a dance."

"Okay!" Ino cheered. She took Shisui's hand and they walked off towards where the music was being played.

"I don't know how to dance." Minako announced as she crossed her arms and remained seated.

"Then I shall teach you. It's quite fun." Itachi tried to reason. He managed to succeed and Minako took his outstretched hand.

"I don't see how fun that is. They're just spinning around." Sasuke grumbled. His hands were shoved in his pockets.

"I think it's pretty fun." I stated as I watched them. Other people had moved to dance as well after Shisui got them to start playing a different song.

"Father got lessons for Itachi, but I've never really learned." Sasuke shrugged and took a seat.

"Well why don't I teach you?" I asked as I stood up and stepped over to him.

"You know how?" Sasuke questioned.

"Yeah. My dad taught me because he's convinced that he won my mom with his dancing skills. I can only teach you the basics, but I'm sure you could get a girl with just that when you're older. That's what my dad told me at least." I explained while reaching out a hand. "Come on, it's fun." I continued after he didn't take my hand.

"Okay." Sasuke took my hand and we stepped away from the tables, but I didn't lead him over to where everyone else was.

I lead him though the basic steps of doing the square. Once he had that down we added a spin. By the time the song ended, he was finally taking the lead confidently. We ended up getting a bigger table and hanging out together. Shisui and Itachi left after Hinata found and joined us. After several hours my parents found us and took Ino and I home, but by then we had all fallen asleep in one of their corners away from everyone.

* * *

"They're seven years old! What is wrong with you?!"

"It's for the village. It's the right thing to do."

"He's right. If this isn't done, then the village could break down into war, or worse."

"It would be an _honor_ to participate in such an event."

"What right do you have to talk!? This is only happening because of you and your stupid clan's need for honor!"

"That's not my fault! Your clan has been pushing ours down from the very start!"

"Come on, let's calm down. I mean, they're just children."

"She's right. We have no idea what could happen in the future."

"Can't we find someone older? Candidates more qualified?"

"This needs to be decided. Without action now, my clan might try something."

"Might try something?! Have more control over your goddamn clan!"

"This is not the time for fighting. We've done research and for the future of the village and both clans, those three are our best and only options."

"Why does their clan get one more candidate than ours?"

"Their clan only has two possible candidates to begin with. Ours only has one about the same age. Now quit trying to start a fight."

"Fine."

"What happens if this fails? What if one child dies before they come of age?"

…

"He makes a fair point. They plan to become ninjas. What if we are to lose one? We can't just restrain them to the village."

"They'd all have something to say about it, and so would their parents."

"Yes, we would."

…

"I don't think we have anything to worry about."

"Why not?"

"Because I have faith in my descendant's ability to make peace through love."

* * *

It had been six months since I came to Konohagakure. I've hung out more with Minako, Ino, Hinata, and Sasuke. Sasuke doesn't like hanging out with anyone of our classmates, so I'll stay to train with him after school. His current dream is to someday become stronger than Itachi. Minako and Ino on the other hand have been doing the opposite. Instead of training or studying, we end up wasting time. Minako never does her homework and tries to spend as much time away from home when her father's away on missions. Ino has been trying to get me to teach her how to dance, especially after the party. She claims that she made an absolute fool out of herself with Shisui and wants to know how to dance so it never happens again. Then, Hinata and I spend lunches together. She doesn't talk much, but it's still fun. She's been trying to get her dad into letting me come over, but it doesn't look like it'll happen anytime soon.

More recently, I've also spent a lot of time with my Grand Papa. He keeps inviting Minako to join us, but her mother keeps saying she can't. I think she's missing out. I've learned a lot about the village, and about the Senju clan. Today he took me out to a park and we found a nice bench in the shade to sit on. He said we'd be talking about Tobirama's wife Asuka and what kind of family he grew up in, but we quickly changed topics.

"So you didn't even start at the Ninja Academy until you were 12?" I asked as I stared up at my Grand Papa.

"Yup, and I became an official ninja three years later with the Hokage and the other elders." he answered.

"Really? That's so cool!" I awed.

"I even met my beloved Fuyuko that same year." His eyes moved from me to the trees before us. "She was the most beautiful woman I had ever met."

"Was she your wife? What did she look like?" I questioned.

"I'm afraid I was never able to make her my wife. We were too young at the time. I met her while on a patrol along the border. She had long, flowing, blonde hair and beautiful, chocolate brown eyes. Her voice was like a song, and just hearing it gave me life." Grand Papa explained, his gaze remaining distant.

"Wow." I continued to awe. "She sounds really pretty. Could I meet her?"

"She certainly was pretty… I'm also afraid that you cannot meet her. She certainly would have loved to meet you… and her daughter too." His gaze refocused and he turned back to me. "I do hope you don't meet her anytime soon. On the other hand, I believe I'll be meeting her very soon." He gave me a smile and I smiled back.

"Just make me a promise." I suddenly ordered, the smiles disappearing from both of our faces.

"And what would that be?" he wondered, his smile trying to inch its way back onto his face.

"Promise me that you'll tell her how much you love her." I declared. His smile dropped, his mouth opening slightly as he stared at me.

"Only if you promise me to live a full life, and never stop smiling." By the time he was able to tell me this, his eyes had grown slightly wet.

"I promise!" I grinned as I leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose.

"Then, I'll promise too."

The following week, on the 25th of November, he fulfilled that promise. I smiled through the tears, just like I promised to. That didn't stop me from being scolded by the other elders and members of the village who respected him. When I was forced to go up and talk about him, the only thing that came to mind was that he was fulfilling his promise and telling Fuyuko how much he had loved her. So, that's what I told everyone along with my the promise I made him about smiling. It was kinda funny how fast everyone who scolded me went silent.

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **Here's that new chapter!**

 **Happy late Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate it!**

 **This chapter's been the longest so far, so I hope you enjoyed that. I hope they continue to remain at this length. I will try my best to keep that.**

 **Please leave a review. I'm always willing to hear about what you all think.**

 **(But like I said first chapter, no hate please.)**

 **Anyways, thank you for reading!**

 **I hope to see you again with my next chapter.**

 **See ya next week!**


	4. Celebrating Family

"I… can come with?" I asked, standing hesitantly behind the gate to the street. I was standing where most of my body could be seen, but my right hand was still on the gate.

"Yeah! We want you to come. It's only lunch so you'll be back right after." Minako explained. Her father, Uncle Kazuki, was standing over her.

Uncle Kaz had a slightly darker skin tone than Minako, and he had the Senju marks. His hair was red like my father's and his eyes a darker blue than Minako's. He actually looked a lot like my dad aside from the shorter hair, and he had green eyes not blue.

"I think it's a great idea. Tsuki needs to get out more." my dad declared, suddenly appearing behind me and opening the gate completely.

"And you'll get her back with enough time to get ready for the party tonight? We would hate to be late for your 8th birthday." my mom stood beside my dad with a big grin as she said the last part. "We have to finish preparing your gift afterall."

"Yeah!" Minako nodded excitedly. "Now hurry up!" Minako quickly ran off and I looked up at Uncle Kaz. He nodded after her and I smiled at him before taking off after her. I made sure to wave at my parents before I got too far.

We ended up eating at Yakiniku Q for lunch. Minako and I sat on one side of the table while Uncle Kaz sat on the other. On Minako's request we bought a lot of meat and other dishes that we could snack on while the meat cooked. Uncle Kaz was in charge of the cooking meat since we were "too young" to handle it ourselves according to him.

"So how's it feel to be 8?" Uncle Kaz asked as some of the pieces got close to done.

"It feels awesome!" Minako beamed, but then her eyes furrowed and she stared down at the table. "... But now I'm old." This caused Uncle Kaz to burst out laughing.

"I'll be 8 soon too, so it's okay." I tried to soothe by setting my hand on her shoulder.

"What are you talking about? Your birthday isn't till after Christmas. Easter was only a few weeks ago." Minako argued giving me a rather confused look.

"Okay." We both turned to Uncle Kaz as he spoke. "For that answer you deserve a piece." After speaking he took a piece off the grill and placed it on Minako's plate.

"I want one!" I cried as I watched Minako chow down on her piece.

"Well, then you'll have to answer a question too." I stared at Uncle Kaz and nodded quickly. "Who's your best friend-"

"Minako and Ino." I quickly answered.

"Ah, you didn't let me finish." he told me and I frowned. "Best friend… who's a guy." My frown disappeared and I felt my eyebrows furrow.

"Sasuke." It took me a moment, but then I nodded after my response.

"Really?" Minako stopped eating and looked over at me. "He's so cold to everyone. It's always about training and grades and his brother. I like Choji more. Sometimes he shares snacks with me."

"Sasuke's pretty cool too. He helped me get caught up in class and sometimes he takes me to train with him. Itachi's pretty fun too." I tried to reason.

"I don't see it." Minako shook her head.

"Well, it's time to eat!" Uncle Kaz interrupted. Minako and I cheered as we held out our plates. Uncle Kaz then stocked them with plenty of the cooked meat for both of us before placing more on the grill to cook.

"It's delicious!" I awed.

"Is this your first time coming here?" Uncle Kaz asked.

"Uh-huh." I nodded. "Mom and Dad have been really busy with these meetings and other things so we always eat at home. Mom also says it's cheaper to eat at home."

"My mom says we eat at home because restaurants make you fat because you always buy so much food." Minako stated before nodding and gobbling down more.

"Well, don't tell your mom about this trip. She'd flip on me if she knew I split away from her meal plan." Kazuki mumbled worriedly and scratched the back of his head.

"Her meal plan is so gross." Minako declared, sticking out her tongue and making a retching sound.

"Do you get cake tonight?" I asked curiously as I finished my plate.

"No. She won't make any so we won't have any." Minako frowned.

"It's alright. She'll be making a lot of other dishes for dinner." Uncle Kaz soothed. "Now plates up again. Final batch is done." We held up our plates and he stocked them up again.

"Don't forget your vegetables, that's what my mom says." Minako declared as she took some of the vegetables from one of the other dishes she ordered.

"I want some too." I announced as I reached over and got some as well.

"Okay, back to tonight. Who'd you invite to the party?" Uncle Kaz questioned, changing the topic. Minako stopped eating and held up her hands.

"I invited Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Sasuke, and… Naruto!" Minako listed, counting off the people on her fingers as she went.

"So many people…" I wondered before digging into my plate.

"Well it sounds like it's gonna be a fun party." Uncle Kaz grinned. "But now I think it's time for the bill." he reached out to get the attention of a waitress walking by as Minako and I finished our plates.

* * *

"Sakura. Calm. Down." Ino ordered.

"How can I do that? I've never been to Sasuke's house before." Sakura awed as knocked again.

"Shh, I think hear someone." I urged before spinning around as the door slid open.

"Hey, girls. How can I help you?" Sasuke's mother greeted us after she opened the door.

"Minako's birthday is tonight and my parents are gonna help us make a cake for her. Could Sasuke come over and help us?" I asked as Ino and Sakura tried to hide behind me.

"I don't see why not. He got back from training with Itachi a few minutes ago, so let me go get him." she explained.

"Okay." we all nodded as she turned and stepped back into the house.

"Sasuke! Some friends are here for you. Grab your stuff for Minako's party." she called out.

"Her party isn't until tonight!" Sasuke called back from somewhere in the house.

"Sasuke, just grab her gift and go with them." she directed.

"Fine." Sasuke grumbled as he came around the corner into sight. He had a box wrapped in gift wrap under his arm and made his way to us.

"Just have her parents walk you home before eight tonight, okay?" she continued.

"I got it." Sasuke nodded as he slipped on his shoes. "Bye! I'll see ya tonight." Sasuke quickly took my hand and took off running, Ino and Sakura quickly running after us.

"Have fun!" his mother shouted and waved after us.

From there it didn't take long to reach my house. Once there we found a recipe for an orange cake since Minako's favorite food was oranges. This took a lot of digging through recipe books, and we only found one in a book we borrowed from a neighbor. Ino and Sakura gathered the ingredients while Sasuke took the tough job of mixing it together. My parents tried to stay out as much as possible, but always stepped in when Sakura or Ino couldn't reach something or Sasuke couldn't mix anymore. Then I got to pour the final mixture into a pan and my parent set it to bake.

"Why did I have to come do this?" Sasuke asked once we were all sitting in my living room.

"Well, I only remembered five of the names she listed off after her father asked who she invited." I replied with a shrug. I quickly set down a book with origami instructions on the table followed by a bunch of different color and patterned paper to fold before I took a seat.

"Who was the fifth person?" Sakura asked as she took the book and flipped through the pages. Ino moved to look over her shoulder.

"Hinata, but her dad said she wasn't allowed to go to the party so I couldn't have her help with the cake." I explained as I picked up a blue paper that was covered in white outlines of flowers. Sasuke grabbed a red paper that was spotted with little yellow flowers. He examined it with a somewhat confused look on his face.

"OH!" We all quickly looked up at Ino. "We should each make an origami crane that we can put on the cake once we're done frosting it!" Ino exclaimed as she took the book from Sakura and set it on the table for us to see.

"That sounds cool!" Sakura beamed as she searched through the papers. Ino quickly did the same before they both settled on one.

My parents ended up coming in to help us, and it took a few tries but we ended up with four cranes to put on the cake. The one Sasuke had made was red and covered in thin, white lined swirls. Ino made one that had a giraffe spot pattern. Sakura's was a hot pink with spread out white flowers that seemed to pop up randomly. Mine was covered in a vines that had white, blue, and green leaves.

By the time we finished the cranes, the cake was done and ready to be frosted. My parents had made white, purple, pink, blue, and yellow frosting. So, they covered the cake with white and then let us decorate it. Ino made her corner pink, Sakura's was purple, Sasuke's was blue, and mine was yellow. We then each set out crane in our colored corner. My parents then took all the remaining icing, made it black, and wrote 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY MINAKO' across the center.

Once the cake was done we packaged it up. We each got our gifts and left my house. We arrived at Minako's house right on time for the party. As soon as she opened the door, we opened the package and showed her the cake. Her face nearly split in half with how big her smile was. From that point on it was a pretty amazing party.

Although, no one seemed to notice Minako's mother, Junko, in the background. She had pointed black eyes, bobbed black hair with bangs that covered her forehead, pale skin, and she wore a very formal kimono. She always seemed to have a glare fixated on Sasuke or I, but everyone was so caught up in Minako's party and Naruto's prank of a gift that it went unnoticed.

* * *

"So it's been decided then?"

"Yes… She is, after all, the better of the two choices."

"She and the boy get along quite well."

"This is what Ryuu would have wanted."

…

"Now you've all been sworn to a vow of secrecy. That means nothing spoken here ever leaves this room."

"At least not until they turn 13."

"Correct. Upon the youngest of the two's 13th birthday, they will be told of their engagement. Not a word of it beforehand."

"That's a lot for a 13 year old to handle. Being told that you've been set in an arranged marriage that you have no control or choice over."

"It's been done in the past, and it's for peace in the village."

"Well to keep the peace until then can I at least tell my clan?"

"You can tell them that the problem has been solved, but the solution cannot be revealed for several years."

"That's incredibly vague."

"Well, it'll have to do because that's all they're gonna get."

"Then I guess our final meeting is adjourned. If anything is to happen to disrupt the plan, then I guess we shall meet again. If not, then we shall see each other again when it's time to plan a wedding."

"This is all for the best."

* * *

"It's official!" my father exclaimed as he entered the kitchen. My mother had stayed home today and once I got home from school we set out to make dinner. I helped her make the gyoza dumplings and now she was cooking them.

"What's official?" I asked as I stood up from the table to go check the rice.

"I got the job." My mother and I quickly turned to look at my father as the room went silent.

"You got the job?" my mother questioned hesitantly.

"Yeah. I start work tomorrow." he grinned.

"That's amazing!" my mother cheered. She stepped away from the stove and hugged my father. My father lifted her up and spun her around as they both laughed.

"So we won't have to move again?" I continued.

"Nope. We can officially settle down." my father continued to grin.

"I'm gonna go get your bento box!" I announced as I ran out of the kitchen and upstairs.

"You don't have to do that now. Let's just sit down to dinner and celebrate." my father told me as I rounded the corner towards the stairs.

"No! I wanna make you lunch tomorrow." I declared before disappearing.

And that's just what I did. We had a great dinner as we talked about our days and heard about my father's new job. After dinner my mother helped me make lunch for my father and I the next day. The next day I set off to school and I wished my father good luck on his first day. The morning went by fast and I soon it was time for lunch.

"Wow, I didn't know you had a bento box." Ino awed. "Why haven't you used it until now?"

"It was in some of the boxes we haven't unpacked." I explained.

"You still have unpacked boxes? You've been her for over a year now." Sasuke questioned. He had been walking by, but stopped after overhearing our conversation.

"I dunno. I've never moved before so I don't know how long it takes to unpack." Minako mumbled with a shrug.

"Maybe she just has a lot of stuff." Naruto added.

"Naruto! Stop eavesdropping and go hang out with Kiba or something." Sakura ordered as she turned away from him.

"Hey! I'm Tsukiko's friend too!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It's okay Naruto, we can walk home together after school and talk then." I suggested.

Since Minako's party, Naruto has been walking home with us. He's really sweet and his apartment is just down the road from mine so we don't mind the extra company. Ino and Minako get a little fed up with him from time to time, but he only means well. I've also noticed how picked on he his at school and it reminds me of what it was like for me in Suna, so I think it's good for him to know that he has at least one person on his side. That's what I always wanted at least.

"Okay, see ya later Tsuki." Naruto waved as he ran off towards Kiba.

"I've been over to your house tons of times and I've never seen any unpacked boxes." Ino suddenly announced.

"They're in the third bedroom that we don't use." I explained.

"Oh, yeah! I think I saw those one time!" Minako exclaimed. "Your mom needed a pot or something for soup and so she had to go in that room to get it. I was wondering why a pot would be in there." Minako laughed to herself as Sakura and Ino did the same.

"Why do you still have unpacked boxes?" We all turned to Hinata who had been quietly eating to my right, everyone else crowding on my left. She jumped at the sudden attention before quickly covering her face that began turning red.

"Well, my family has this thing where we don't unpack everything until we know we are staying." I explained.

"What do you mean until you know you're staying?" Sakura asked.

"Well, not a lot of people approve of my father's work. He really got into it after I was born and needed hearing aids. After that he made things that are supposed to help patients live better after an accident or help doctor's do their jobs." I continued to explain. "We left the village I was born in almost immediately after I got my hearing aids. We were in the next village only a year before moving to Suna. We never got around to settling in before we were summoned to move here. We've always had unpacked boxes as long as I can remember." I finished grimly, staring down at my leftover gyoza dumplings.

"Wait, you thought you were gonna move again?" Minako questioned and I nodded.

"But my dad got a job yesterday!" I suddenly announced, looking up and around at everyone. "That means that we're gonna finally unpack all of our boxes and settle in."

"Yay! Tsukiko's gonna stay!" Ino cheered.

"Wait, Tsukiko was going somewhere?" Kiba asked from across the room. He, Choji, Shikamaru, and Naruto all had confused looks on their faces as we laughed.

* * *

 **That's the end of this chapter folks!**

 **What'd you guys think?**

 **Leave a review and let me know. I love hearing from you guys.**

 **Also, thank you everyone who has reviewed so far! Positive reviews make me really happy and make me want to continue writing.**

 **And, to a particular reviewer, I love that you like the story so far and I'm glad that you enjoy how well I write.**

 **I'd just like to clarify something real quick as well. I have trouble writing younger characters because I don't have a lot of experience with that age group, and right now they're about 7 or 8. If you look at clips of Sasuke before the massacre he did act a lot more open and happy, and I'm trying to portray that as best I can. I hope you all see him and Tsukiko grow more into their characters in future chapters as they grow up.**

 **Sorry for such a long author's note!**

 **Again, thank you everyone else who reviewed! I love every single one I get.**

 **Like I said in the last chapter, I did my best to keep this chapter just as long.**

 **Thank you for reading, and I'll see you next week with a new chapter.**

 **Bye!**


	5. A Conspiracy

"Hey, guess what Itachi did?" Sasuke asked as we picked up our kunai from our training.

"Is it something great that your father won't stop going on about?" My question earned me a glare which I shrugged off as I pulled kunai out of some stumps.

"Yeah, but I don't blame him this time. He made Anbu Squad Leader at 13." Sasuke answered.

"Anbu? Aren't they spies for the Hokage?" I questioned, having only heard about them once in class months ago. "I didn't know Itachi was part of them."

"Yeah… He joined about a year before you got here. I overheard that he's the youngest ever and the only reason he got in was because of his talent and…" Sasuke trailed off into a mumble and I couldn't hear what he said last.

"And, what?" I asked, walking closer so that I could hear him.

"And because of my clan…" Sasuke finished, he gaze remaining on the floor. "I've only heard bits and pieces, but supposedly everyone is mad at the Hokage and elders because of a fox or something that attacked the village when I was a baby. Everyone suddenly stopped talking about it around a month ago though."

"Wow… Why a fox though?" I questioned, giving him a confused look.

"I dunno, actually." Sasuke chuckled slightly and scratched the back of his head. "No one talks about it. I heard it was as tall as the cliff with the Hokage faces."

"That big? I was wondering why everyone was making a big deal out of a fox attacking the village, but I was thinking a normal fox. What harm could something that big do?" I laughed to myself as I imagined a little red fox digging through someone's trash.

"I was really confused at first too. I had this image of a normal fox digging through someone's trash." Sasuke told me as he walked back towards where we stood to throw the kunai.

"That's what I just thought of!" I exclaimed as I pointed at him.

"Really? That's funny." he laughed slightly before nodding his head away from me. "Get over here so we can start target practice again."

"Got it." I nodded with a smile and ran over to stand behind our safety line.

* * *

"Tsukiko, come on! The Hokage wants to talk to me, and I don't wanna be late!" Naruto shouted at me from where he stood up the road.

"But why am I coming?" I questioned as I ran to catch up with him.

"Because you were going to teach me how to throw a shuriken." Naruto declared with a huge grin once I stood in front of him. "Now let's go!" Naruto suddenly grabbed my hand and began dragging me to the Hokage's office.

We rushed past people and into the academy. Naruto didn't even pause before storming into the Hokage's office. He let go of my hand just before running in so I found myself standing in the doorway. Naruto stood in the room where a large group of Jonin stood before the Hokage at his desk.

"Naruto, what is the meaning of this?" the Hokage questioned, standing up from his chair as the Jonin parted so the Hokage could see Naruto.

"What are you talking about? You summoned me!" Naruto announced.

"Naruto, I'm just gonna wait outside." I mumbled before closing the door. I doubt I went heard because even after I closed the door I could still hear them arguing.

Then there was another voice. It was distant and I barely caught it amongst the arguing in the room beside me. I wandered down the hall, tuning out Naruto as much as possible. I rounded a corner and soon Naruto's voice was becoming more distant and the other was getting louder. It was a man's voice, and it sounded like he was talking with someone. I went down a pair of stairs and turned another corner and then it was there. There door was only open a crack and I inched towards it so I could see into the room.

One of the elders stood at the front of the room. I think I heard his name was Danzo. Before him were Anbu members, but I didn't recognize them. There must have been at least ten of them. They all had masks like normal Anbu, but they weren't dressed like them. They wore black cloaks and I don't think I've ever seen any of their masks before. It seemed like Danzo was holding a meeting, but it was incredibly spooky. All the Anbu were on their knees, and they were all quiet as they listened to Danzo.

"-orders are set. They arrive tonight." Danzo declared. "What is our final goal?"

"The downfall of the-"

"Tsukiko!" Naruto's voice rang out.

I quickly pushed away from the door and ducked around the corner. I didn't look back and I did my best to be silent as I ran. I was up the stairs in a matter of seconds. I ran down the hall back toward the Hokage's office. I turned the corner and ran directly into Naruto. We both crashed to the floor and I held my head.

"Naruto! Why do you have such a hard head?" I groaned as my forehead throbbed.

"Why were you running?" Naruto flipped the question on me as he quickly sat up and pointed a finger at me.

"Are you always shouting?" We both looked up at the man who had walked out of the Hokage's office.

"Uncle Kaz!" I grinned as I stood up and hugged my uncle's leg.

"Good morning to you too." he smiled and patted my head as I backed away. "Now aside from interrupting the Hokage's meeting, what are you two up to?"

"We were gonna go do some shuriken practice." Naruto announced as he stood up to stand beside me.

"So you're skipping school?" Uncle Kaz asked.

"I got permission to take today off to train." I smiled.

"In that case, why don't I give you some tips?" Uncle Kaz offered.

"Yeah!" Naruto and I cheered.

Uncle Kaz walked us out and to one of the training grounds. We collected together as many shuriken as we could and Uncle Kaz began his teachings. How to handle them without getting cut, how to aim, and how to put enough force to get it to the target. There was a lot of other things, but those are the ones we focused on. Especially since Naruto had enough trouble with just those. Nearly hit Uncle Kaz a few times… and Uncle Kaz was standing behind him.

"I missed again!" Naruto cried, his shuriken ending up nearly two trees over from where it was originally aimed.

"Naruto!" I cried when he threw another one and it barely missed my nose.

"I think it might be Tsukiko's turn to throw a few." Uncle Kaz chuckled slightly has he stopped Naruto.

"But I'm the one that needs more practice." Naruto whined as he passed Uncle Kaz all of his shuriken.

"Maybe you'll learn something from watching her." Uncle Kaz told Naruto as he passed me the shuriken. He then bent down so that his head was level with mine. "Now, I want you to hit that tree." He pointed at a tree directly in front of us.

"That's easy." I smiled, but it quickly dropped when he shook his head.

"No, the one behind it." Uncle Kaz continued, pointing up again. I then noticed the edge of a tree behind the one he had originally pointed at. There were practically the same size and, from where we stood, directly behind one another.

"I can't do that." I mumbled as I observed the two trees.

"Well, why don't I show you?" Uncle Kaz offered. Without a response from me, he stood.

I stepped back as he positioned himself and aimed. He swung forward and released the shuriken. It glided through the air in an arch. It disappeared behind the first tree and was quickly followed by a thump. Naruto and I ran to look at the other tree and stopped in awe. He had really hit the other tree!

"I wanna do that!" Naruto shouted as he ran back up to Uncle Kaz.

"You'll need to be able to hit your target first." Uncle Kaz announced before handing me some shuriken. He then turned and gave the rest to Naruto. "You try practicing over here. I'm going to take Naruto over there to continue his practice without possible harm to anyone else." Uncle Kaz laughed quietly as he started walking to another section of the clearing.

"Hey!" Naruto called as he ran after Uncle Kaz. "I heard that!" I laughed a little before turning to my goal.

It looked impossible to be honest… but Uncle Kaz was able to do it. If Uncle Kaz was able to do it, then someday I'd have to be able to do it too. So, I began to practice. I made sure my stance, aim, and throw were all the best I could manage… Except, it wasn't working. I'd always hit the first tree or end up sending the shuriken flying off just to the side in hopes of somehow getting it to curve. It was so much harder to do than it looked.

Every once and awhile I would have to go and collect my shuriken so I could continue practicing. I got it to curve once! It ended up in a bush, though… Time flew by and I found myself completely lost in my practice.

"What are you doing?" I jumped at the sudden voice and my shuriken ended up in a bush nearly five feet away from where I aimed. I then turned to see Sasuke standing by a tree behind me.

"Practicing. What are you doing?" I asked as I turned to face him fully.

"School ended. I couldn't find you so I was just gonna practice with my kunai alone." Sasuke explained.

"Oh, well I was practicing my shuriken with Naruto and Uncle Kaz." I explained before turning to where they were and noticing that they weren't actually there. "They were over there…" I mumbled as I scratched the back of my head in thought.

"I just saw them leaving. I don't think they noticed me though, because Naruto was being really obnoxious." Sasuke answered.

"They probably said good-bye and I was too spaced out to hear them." I chuckled to myself.

"In that case, why don't you continue practicing whatever you were doing and I'll go over there to practice with my kunai." Sasuke offered as he pointed to a nearby cluster of trees.

"Sounds good." I nodded before running off to retrieve my shuriken.

Sasuke went off to his cluster of trees, dropping his bag just outside of them. Then we trained in silence. The only sounds came from the thumps of Sasuke's kunai hitting the trees, and the brushing sounds from my shuriken ending up in the bushes. It went on like this for some time before both sounds stopped and were followed by Sasuke and I retrieving our ninja tools. This seemed to repeat over and over until _it_ suddenly happened.

 _Thump._

It was definitely not a woosh of leaves. It was dull and it resonated… just like Sasuke's kunai hitting the trees. I quickly ran up to the tree blocking my target. As I looked around it, there it was. The shuriken was hanging loosely, but it had hit the tree… I had hit the tree.

"I hit it." I mumbled in my awe.

"What?" Sasuke asked as he looked over. "Why'd you stop?"

"I hit it." I answered as I turned to look at him, still caught in my state of awe.

"You what?" Sasuke questioned, beginning to walk over.

"I hit it!" I finally announced excitedly. I stepped away from the trees and began to run around the clearing enthusiastically as I threw my hands over my head and cheered.

"What are you doing, weirdo?" Sasuke chuckled as he watched. I grinned and ran over to him.

"Come see!" I ordered as I grabbed his hand and dragged him over to where I had been throwing shuriken. "Look, look!" I exclaimed as I pointed at the shuriken.

"So what? You hit the tree." Sasuke shrugged, still laughing a little.

"Ugh! Sasuke, just watch!" I quickly dragged him out of the way as I prepared a shuriken.

I got in place and took a deep breath. Once I had calmed down a bit I threw the shuriken. We watched as it arched and disappeared behind the tree. There was a resounding _thump_ , again.

"No way." Sasuke's eyes grew wide as he ran over to see what I had done. "Woah!"

"I've been working on this all day!" I groaned as I dropped to the ground.

"That's really cool." Sasuke smiled as he looked back at me. His smile quickly dropped as he looked at me. "Are you okay?" Sasuke asked as he ran over, crouching down in front of me.

"I just realized I haven't had anything to eat all day." I chuckled nervously as I scratched the back of my head. "I was so focused on trying to get this technique down that I completely forgot."

"Oh, well I have food left over from lunch." Sasuke told me as he stood up. "Let me go get some and we'll take a break. Then you're gonna teach me how to do that." Sasuke smiled again before running off to get his bag. Once he had gotten it he ran back over.

"What do you have?" I asked as he sat down in front of me.

"I think I have a few onigiri left, and some teriyaki chicken." Sasuke answered as he pulled out a bento box to reveal three onigiri and a small pile of teriyaki chicken.

"Why do you have so much leftover?" I questioned as I took the onigiri he offered me.

"My mom made a ton of food for me today and I don't know why. There were six onigiri, a pile of teriyaki nearly three times the size of that one, and a ton of vegetables and stuff." Sasuke explained as he took one of the remaining onigiri for himself.

"Maybe she knew you were gonna train so she made extra." I suggested.

"Maybe." Sasuke shrugged a little in agreement.

We fell into a calm silence after that as we ate. Sasuke gave me the teriyaki chicken while he consumed the last of the onigiri. I was happy to take it since I hadn't gotten anything with protein since the bacon at breakfast. As we finished up I began to notice how dark it had gotten. They sky had gotten dark, and only a little light remained.

"When did it get so dark?" I asked as I looked around.

"We should probably head back before it gets too late." Sasuke announced as he began packing up his bag.

"Okay. I'll go get my shuriken." I stood and ran over to retrieve my tools. As I finished up I noticed Sasuke about done as well.

Then there was a crack. It wasn't big. Much closer to a snap really. Like a twig being stepped on. I looked around cautiously before quickly running over to Sasuke.

"You ready to go?" I stopped next to Sasuke and nodded.

"Let's get out of here. It's really creepy in the dark." I told him as we started walking.

"Here." Sasuke put his arm out in front of me as we walked. "You can hold onto my arm if you get scared." Sasuke joked with a smile.

"I'm not a scaredy cat." I huffed, punching his arm.

"I was just joking." Sasuke laughed as we made it to the paved path. There were lights along the paved path so I began to feel more at ease.

"Well it wasn't funny." I stated as I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"I think it was funny." Sasuke and I both stopped at the sudden deep voice.

Just up ahead, in the shadow between two lights, stood a man. His outfit was tight to his body and completely black. His hair was even black. Then he began walking towards us. As soon as he stepped into the light we could see it… His face was covered by black makeup that only allowed yellow eyes and a gleaming white smile to be seen. He had swords strapped to his back and all sorts of other blades strapped to his legs, arms, and hips. As he stepped towards us I felt my entire body begin to shake.

"You kids shouldn't be out this late." the man said. "It's really not safe."

"What do you want?" Sasuke questioned as he stepped in front of me.

"Oh, nothing really… I'm just looking for a little Uchiha boy who's out past his bedtime." the man's smile shined in the lack of light.

"Sorry, we can't help you. Please let us pass." I managed to say from behind Sasuke.

"Oh, but I think you can." the man tsked. "You've actually made this quite easy for me. Now I can kill you both without anyone hearing your screams." Then the man lunged forward at us as he drew the two swords from his back. We quickly dodged out of the way, but ended up on opposite sides of the man.

"Run!" Sasuke yelled as we made eye contact. I quickly took off down the pathed path. Away from the man and towards the village. I noticed Sasuke doing the same out of the corner of my eye.

"You can't get away from me!" the man yelled from behind us. I didn't dare to look back as I heard his footsteps ganging up on us.

Suddenly, I was yanked off my feet. Pain shot through my head as I was pulled back by my hair. A scream escaped me at the sudden action and I was quickly slammed to the ground. I felt a cold blade meet my throat as my eyes fell on Sasuke. He had skidded to a halt and was looking back at us. My eyes began to water as I was overwhelmed by a feeling of dread.

"I've got your little friend now." the man laughed. He yanked my hair again, causing me to let out a yelp. "What are you gonna do, little Uchiha boy?"

* * *

 **Here's the chapter!**

 **I hope you like it, and I think this is our first cliffhanger.**

 **What do you guys think?**

 **Let me know how much you liked it! Or how much you hated that it was a cliffhanger.**

 **Either way, leave a review. I love hearing from you guys.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **I'll see you with a new chapter next week.**


	6. The Massacre

Everything had gone silent as the moon began to rise. The only sound came from Sasuke and I's heavy breathing after running and failing to escape from this man. This man that was apparently going to kill us. Sasuke looked frozen on the path ahead of us. His eyes were glued to the blade of the tanto pressed to my throat. Everytime I tried to move, the blade felt like it would press further. I felt suffocated as my hands clung to the hand holding the blade.

"W-What do you want?" Sasuke questioned, his voice cracking.

"I want to get paid." the man cackled.

His breath brushed the side of my face, and gave off a horrible smell. He was crouched down, but I was still lifted off the ground so much that I stood on the tips of my toes. The arm without a blade kept my back against his chest.

"P-Paid?" I managed to squeak before the blade pushed slightly, but still not enough to do damage. He lowered his head so that his mouth was level with my ear.

"Keep that mouth of yours shut, Missy." the man hissed before raising his head back up.

"Paid for what?" Sasuke suddenly asked. He was doing his best to look strong, but his legs were shaking.

"For killing you of course." I could practically hear the grin in the man's voice.

"Why would you want to kill me?" Sasuke voice had dropped almost to a whisper and was filled with horror. "I-I haven't done anything."

"That might be true, and honestly I have nothing against you." I felt the man shrug behind me. "But… I am being offered a hefty sum of money to kill you and any witnesses." the man began to laugh and I finally felt the tears begin to stream down my cheeks. "It's almost worth wasting the time here to terrorize you before I kill you."

"I don't wanna die." I cried out as the blade scraped my neck.

"I told you to shut your mouth!" the man shouted. The blade was pressed and I felt a small drop slid down my throat.

"Stop it!" Sasuke called. The man's attention was quickly taken away from me as I squeezed my eyes shut. There's no way out of this.

"What do you want now?" the man groaned. "Would you like to sacrifice yourself? Die first to save the girl?" the man cackled. "That's kinda pointless. I'll be killing you both no matter what."

"Who would want to kill me?" Sasuke questioned. It sounded like such an odd question. Then I realized that he must be stalling. If he stalled long enough, then maybe someone would find us.

"I dunno. I haven't personally met them." the man replied. I struggled to find something I could do to maybe help stall even a little longer. "But, they want all the Uchiha clan dead. Not just you." My eyes flew open and grew wide as I noticed Sasuke completely freeze up again.

"All of the Uchiha clan?" Sasuke mumbled as he stared in awe.

"Of course." the man groaned again and the look on Sasuke's face told me that he rolled his eyes. "There's a group of us here, and we don't get paid unless all of you Uchiha are dead."

If what he's saying is true… then no one will be coming. If anyone is aware of what's going on, then they'll all be trying to help the Uchiha clan. No will know to come save us.

"You can't do that. S-Someone will stop you." Sasuke insisted, his voice cracking.

"You're fooling yourself kid. _No one_ is coming." the man barked.

I have to do something.

* * *

Figures dressed in black jumped between houses within the Uchiha district. They killed everyone who set eyes on them. It went smoothly and silently. Until they missed one…

A scream tore through the dark night air, and people began to wake.

Tsukiko's father, Shota, was out the door first. Her mother, Yui, soon followed him out onto the street. After the first scream, more began to follow.

"That came from the Uchiha district. Kazuki said she saw Tsukiko with Sasuke." Yui announced.

"Go get Inoichi, Kazuki, and anyone else you can find." Shota ordered. "I suspect we'll need as many ninja as possible. I'll go look for Tsukiko and help where I can." Yui nodded in agreement before running off to retrieve help. Shota quickly did the same, and took off toward the Uchiha district.

* * *

"Itachi!" Shota called as he ran up to the house. He entered, but was quickly met with a blade at his throat.

"So, it's you attacking my clan." Fugaku scoffed as he glared at the man standing before him.

"You've got the wrong idea. Just put the sword down and help me." Shota pladed.

"Help you annihilate my clan?" Fugaku bite as he forced Shota back out of his home using the blade. "I'd rather kill the culprit myself."

"I haven't done anything! I'm trying to help you, goddammit!" Shota cursed as he backed away to avoid the blade. "Your clan is being slaughtered by an unknown force. Put down your pride before they all get killed!" Another scream pierced the air and both men stopped.

"Stop bickering, and go." Itachi advised as he appeared in the open doorway. He then stepped out of the house with his mother following. "I'll get people out of the district."

Both men exchanged a knowing look before running off towards the scream. By now there were more ninja within the district trying to help. Not all of the attackers had been located and taken down, but they were quickly being outnumbered. The two men dropped down onto a street. They quickly overpowered the attacker they had found before running to search for another.

"Where's my son?" Fugaku suddenly asked as they rounded a corner.

"How should I know?" Shota countered.

"He's always home before sundown unless he's with your daughter training somewhere. So, I ask again, where is my son?" Fugaku questioned more sternly. This caused Shota to skid to a halt. Fugaku quickly did the same.

"We thought Tsukiko was with Sasuke here." Shota explained.

* * *

"This is what you get for messing with the Hidden Leaf Village!" Kazuki hissed at the attacker he had just taken down. "Who's next?" He quickly took off running in another direction in search of more attackers.

He soon found one, but was noticed instantly. The staff of Kazuki's naginata met with an opposing blade. So, Kazuki rapidly continued his attack. In seconds, Kazuki had knocked the man to the ground. A single quick slice of his own blade, and the attacker was done.

"Kazuki!" Said man turned to find Shota running up to him, followed by Fugaku.

"Have you seen Sasuke or Tsukiko?" Fugaku asked quickly.

"No, but all I've really seen are the bodies and the attackers… so, maybe it's a good thing I haven't." Kazuki explained, resting his weapon over his shoulder.

"Damn it!" Shota cried as he stepped away. His hands flew to his head in exasperation as he pulled at his hair.

"We haven't been able to find them." Fugaku explained.

"You don't think there still out training do you?" Kazuki asked. "If they are and the attackers knew, then they could have sent someone out there…"

* * *

Sasuke had continued to stall the man with conversation. As he did, I was able to move my hands up to my ears. I had come up with a plan, but it was going to hurt. If it worked though… then we wouldn't die… I can deal with a little pain.

"Kid you've stalled enough. Now, do you wanna watch her die? Or will you sacrifice yourself so she can watch you die?" the man suddenly questioned.

"I-I…" Sasuke stammered, unsure of what to do.

"Sasuke…" I said. I paused, expecting the man to react. But he did something unexpected.

"Oh, the little lady's got something to say." the man cackled. "Let it be her last words." He moved his blade so that it was positioned perpendicular to my throat. It went quiet and I swallowed the lump in my throat before speaking.

"Plug your ears." I ordered. Sasuke gave me a confused look and I felt the man falter. I quickly took this moment to tear out my hearing aids.

As soon as they were out of my ears all I heard was a high pitched ringing, but I knew from experience that the hearing aids were emitting their own high pitched sound. Once they were removed I turned up the volume as high as it would go. Sasuke grimaced as his hands flew to his ears. In turn, I watched as the knife was dropped and the man behind me covered his ears as well. As fast as I could I picked up the blade, spun around, and stabbed the guy's leg. I then took off away from the man, grabbed Sasuke's hand, and dragged him off into the woods instead of continuing down the path.

We ran through the forest away from the man. Soon Sasuke was ahead of me, pulling me to run faster. I trusted him to lead since I couldn't hear the man following us anymore. Suddenly, he stopped and yanked me into a bush at the base of the tree. He pulled me to crawl through the bush and I soon found myself sitting beside him inside the hollow base of the tree. From here we could safely see our surroundings without being seen. The bushes covered the entrance completely and the tree was growing above us. It perfectly fit the two of us.

I bent down and looked underneath the bush to watch for the man. I threw myself back when I saw what looked like his leg. Sasuke quickly covered my mouth as we both pressed ourselves against the back of the space. The man limped closer and soon his foot was directly in front of the bushes. His foot was pointed in the opposite direction to where we were, but I still felt frozen. Especially when he stopped.

I stopped moving. It felt like I had even stopped breathing. My eyes were glued to the back of the man's feet as he stood directly in front of us. No more than three feet kept us apart. Sasuke felt like he was in the same state beside me. His hand was still firmly pressed over my mouth. There's no way out of this. If he realizes we're here, then we're dead. I moved my hand and grabbed on to Sasuke's free one between us. He grabbed my hand and held on just as tightly as I did.

Sasuke tensed, and I suspected the man was calling for us. The feet started to turn and we both became even more frozen, if that were possible. He was almost facing the tree when the feet suddenly disappeared… As if the man suddenly flew. I felt my body become less tense, especially when Sasuke's grip loosened. We remained like this for another, agonizingly long, minute before feet appeared again. I pressed myself even farther back into the tree, and tightened my grip on Sasuke's hand. The feet came closer and I felt my eyes began to tear up.

We were gonna die.

The feet stopped and the bushes were moved aside. My eyes remained glued ahead of me as a face appeared in place of the bushes… but it wasn't the man. It was someone new. It took me a moment in the dark, but I quickly recognized him. It was my dad! I threw myself forward and wrapped my arms around his neck as he smiled. He hugged me back as the tears finally started to fall down my cheeks.

* * *

"How's it sound now?" my father asked as he finished looking at my ears. We had managed to retrieve my hearing aids from the path. My father had cleaned them up, fixed them, and put them back into my ear.

"Sounds A-OK!" I smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

"Thank god." my father breathed as he hugged me for what felt like the hundredth time.

"We need to speak to her now." Itachi said, making his presence known. I had seen him come in and wait near the door with couple of Anbu behind him.

"We'll need you to go speak with the Anbu in the hall." one of the anbu told my father.

"You want me to leave her alone with you?" my father stood and turned to the men, crossing his arms over his chest. "She's 7 years old. If you are going to be interrogating her, then I'll be standing right here until you are done."

"No, dad. It's okay." I announced as I stood up behind him. He turned and crouched so that we were the same height. "I'll be fine. You go answer your questions while I answer mine. Then, we'll go home!" I smiled cheerfully as he pulled my hands into his. His gaze dropped to the floor and he took a deep breath. He then sighed and met my eyes.

"Okay." my father nodded. He stood up and walked out of the room quietly, but he stopped at the door to whisper to one of the Anbu before the door was shut.

"Now, Tsukiko, have a seat." Itachi motioned for me to sit on the couch I had just been on as he moved to sit across from me. I nodded and did as he told me. The Anbu moved to stand behind the couch. "I know you're tired. It's been a long night… but, I need you to answer some questions so we can understand what happened tonight."

"Okay. Can I ask a question first?" I asked, and Itachi nodded. "Well… did you get rid of that man?"

"The one that was after you and Sasuke?" Itachi clarified and I nodded. "Yes, we did. He and his group are no longer in Konoha."

"So he can't hurt anyone else?" I continued, my hand reaching up to the bandage that had been put around my neck.

"No, he cannot." Itachi answered. "Now, it is time for our questions. If you aren't comfortable, then you don't have to answer them, but we need to find out as much as we can about this incident. Okay?" Itachi explained.

"Okay." I nodded. He went to speak and something occurred to me. "Wait, is this just about the man or does it have to do with all those other men who were talking to the old guy too?" Itachi looked a little taken aback by my question.

"What other men and old guy are you referring to?" Itachi implored.

"The ones that look like the Anbu, but not really. They had these big black cloaks instead of vests like the normal Anbu, but they all had masks. They were all kneeling in front of the old guy that looks like he always has one of his arms stuck in his clothes." I tried to explain as best as I could.

"Did you hear anything they said?" Itachi asked. I shook my head.

"Only something about a downfall, but Naruto called me so I had to leave." I answered. Itachi nodded and looked like he was in thought.

"Well, why don't we get you through the rest of the questions, that way you can head home." Itachi declared. I nodded excitedly as I agreed.

* * *

The following day my parents kept me out of school. My dad got the day off of work and we spent it at home. They helped me with my homework that morning. My mom had me help her make both breakfast and lunch. Then we went out to a park in the afternoon. Although, on the way back, we went to the Uchiha district instead of going home. Minako and her father even met us there.

We talked for a little while, but Itachi showed up and lead us into the district. Lots of the buildings were blocked off in some way. It was mostly unnoticeable or hidden, but every so often I caught a glimpse of blood. Some in the windows of the blocked off houses we passed. Others on the road, trying to be covered by dirt. He led us in silence to a large building in the middle of the district. We were let in and taken to a stage. Minako and I admired the large crowd of Uchiha on the other side of the curtain. It didn't see as large as it should have been to be all the Uchiha. They were all bustling around, some angry and other incredibly sad.

"What do you think is going on?" Minako asked as she looked over my shoulder at the crowd.

"I dunno. I mean, Sasuke and I got attacked last night, but I don't know why that would be important." I answered.

"Did you see the blood in some of those windows?" Minako continued once we closed the curtains and sat down on the ground.

"You sure it was blood?" I countered and she gave me a sad look.

"I hope not…" she mumbled. Her gaze wandered to our parents, talking just out of earshot of us. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"I hope it's not me. Dad was a little mad that I was training so late." I replied.

"He was made about you training? Really?" Minako questioned.

"Well, it may also have had something to do with taking out my hearing aids." I scratched the back of my neck nervously as I ducked my head.

"You did?! Did it hurt?" Minako continued.

"Yeah, it always does." I shrugged as I mumbled.

"What are you lovely young ladies talking about?" We both jumped and looked up at the old woman standing over us. She had pale skin with green eyes. Her white hair was tied up into a bun on the top of her head with a pair of sticks poking out of the top.

"Nothing." we both chimed in simultaneously.

"Well that's mighty suspicious." the old woman laughed. When she smiled it caused her eyes to close. "My name is Asuka, I'm a Senju just like you."

"Really?" Minako asked, beginning to beam. "My name is Minako. Kazuki's my dad."

"And what's your name?" Asuka turned to me.

"Tsukiko. My mom is Yui and my dad is Shota." I answered.

"Well that's a beautiful name." Asuka smiled as she crouched to sit beside us. "Both of you have such pretty names."

"So… who are you related to?" My voice came out quietly, and both turned to me after I finished my question.

"Who me?" Asuka asked in mock curiosity. Both of us quickly nodded. "Why I was Tobirama's wife. I believe you met my son Ryuu before his heart gave out on him." she chuckled slightly. Despite her words, she continued to smile.

"Granny, you're still alive?" We all turned to look at Uncle Kaz who was staring at Asuka in awe.

"My heart's still beating like a drum." Asuka grinned as she stood. "I've kept myself in hiding. It's no longer right for people of my generation to interfere with what's happening now."

"Your generation?" Minako asked as she stood up.

"Well, when I was younger Konohagakure didn't even exist. That Hashirama helped build this with Madara Uchiha. Because of that, I saw it fit to step forward." Asuka explained. "I'm still very aware of what's going on in this village."

"So, you're gonna help us declare our alliance?" my father questioned as we walked forward.

"Yes, and hopefully it'll stave off any of those plans you made for the young ones." Asuka said, turning a pointed look at our parents.

"What kind of plans?" I wondered as I stepped forward, grabbing the sleeve of her purple kimono to get her attention.

"Well-"

"It's time." We all turned to see Sasuke's father standing not too far away. Asuka nodded and stepped towards the curtain.

"Then let's begin." Asuka declared.

Once the curtains opened, the room feel silent. Asuka was the first to speak. She told the room who she was, and what her standing there today meant. My father then stepped forward to talk about the plan. He spoke of the tragedy that occured the night before and Minako and I realized the intensity of the situation. He vowed that those who remained of the Senju clan would assist the Uchiha through this tough time. He then continued by mentioning that once this is all over, the Senju will continue to remain at the Uchiha's side. Kazuki then brought up whether the Uchiha would do the same. The room was filled with murmuring before an answer was proclaimed. The Senju and Uchiha would stay at each other's sides.

The entire event had stretched on into the night. Asuka had disappeared. My father said we stayed so long because of something to do with legal stuff regarding the alliance. While our parents dealt with that, Minako and I hung out with Sasuke and waited for it all to be over. For some reason I felt a bit of accomplishment for my clan as I went home that night. I hadn't done anything on my own, but I felt like this could be the first step to doing more. More for both of our clans.

* * *

"I've spoken with the hospital and they're considering admitting me to the staff." my mother announced while we ate dinner.

"Really? That easily?" I questioned.

"She's right. There's gotta be some kind of condition." my father commented.

"Yes, there is." my mother groaned. "They want me to act as a student for a few months. That way they can assess my skill level and place me in the right department."

"That seems logical to me." my father nodded.

"Yes, but I'd like to do some training. At this rate I won't get proper medical ninjutsu training till after they deem where my skill levels are at." my mother explained.

"Why the rush?" I asked. "I think being a student it fine."

"Well, it's good that you're liking school, but I didn't." my mother answered.

"That's because of your parents." my father nudged her. "If I have anything to say about it, then you'll never have to meet them." my father aimed this statement at me.

"Okay." I nodded.

"She's got another point there, dear. Why the rush to finish learning medical ninjutsu?" my father questioned.

"It's been a month since the attack on the Uchiha, and Mikoto told me…" my mother began, but had to stop to take a deep breath. "She told me that the Uchiha are only at a quarter of the size they use to be." She paused and covered her eyes as she lowered her head. "What good is knowing medical jutsu when I can't even use it to save a person's life?"

"Blame your parents." my dad tried to soothe as he wrapped his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. "There therapeutic medical ninjutsu has gotten you a long way so far, but it was a dumb option in the long run."

"At least my brother had the right idea… Moving in with my uncle to become a normal medical ninja." my mother groaned. She the spread her fingers apart so she could look across the table at me. "You're not allowed to meet your great uncle either. He's not like my parents, but he is crazy."

"Okay." I nodded again. "Good luck with the hospital. I have an exam tomorrow so I'm going to go study." I announced as I got up and ran away from the table.

"She totally just left us to do her dishes." my father grumbled as he looked at the plates I had left on the table.

"Oh, yeah!" my mother chuckled as they began clearing the table.

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **I think this resolves our first cliffhanger. Also, I'm not that good at writing fighting/action scenes. This chapter was also really chunky…**

 **Anyways, what'd you guys think? Leave a review and let me know.**

 **The next chapter will be right in time for Christmas, for those who celebrate. If you don't, then let me know. I'm curious to hear what everyone else does this time of year.**

 **Also, if I hear from enough of you guys, then I might just make it into a Christmas special. If not, then we'll just continue as usual. Leave a review and let me know what'd you like to see this holiday season.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **See ya next week!**


	7. Moving Up

"Good afternoon, class." Iruka-sensei announced as he entered the room after lunch. Instead of closing the door like he usually did he was followed by the Hokage and another man that looked like a jounin. "The Hokage will be observing our class for the remainder of the day, so I want you on your best behavior."

"Well in that case-"

"Naruto, sit down." Iruka-sensei ordered, and the class laughed a little as the blonde sat back down. "Just pretend they aren't even here." Iruka-sensei smiled, but all our eyes were on the Hokage and his partner as they walked to the back of the class. As everyone turned back around, I watched as the Hokage took a seat directly behind me several rows.

"Why do you think the Hokage is here?" Ino asked and I spun around to look at her.

"I dunno, but it makes me feel like I'm being watched." I replied, shaking slightly as if there was a chill.

"Tell me about it." Ino mumbled as we looked forward.

"Girls." Ino and I flinched as everyone's attention was turned to us by Iruka-sensei. "Would you mind telling me the answer to this question? Since you both were talking while I answered, then I assume you know the answer already and don't need me to finish."

We both observed the question he had written on the board. 'Did the Legendary Sannin dispatch before the Second Shinobi World War?' I noticed Ino shrinking back into her seat, and I stared up at Iruka confused. We had been learning about the war for nearly two weeks now, and there were so many things wrong with that question.  
"Iruka-sensei, isn't that a trick question?" I raised my hand to get his attention.

"Yes, it is. Good job. Can you explain why it's a trick question?" Iruka-sensei continued.

"Well, the Legendary Sannin didn't get their name until during the Second Shinobi World War. They received the name from a leader from Amegakure. They didn't dispatch until a while after that. Even then it was because one of them completely disappeared for three years while the other two remained fighting." I explained.

"That is a very good job, Tsukiko. Now, would anyone else like to explain who the Legendary Sannin were?" Iruka-sensei questioned, continuing the class. I watched as Ino slumped forward in defeat.

"I thought we were doomed." I heard Ino mumble, and tried to stifle my laugh.

After covering more on the Second Shinobi World War, we ended up going outside to spar. Ino had run off to walk out with Minako and I stayed behind to walk with Sasuke. In the months since the incident, he's become kind of distant from everyone in the class. He's always out training, and I don't blame him. I've spent a majority of my time off trying to train with Uncle Kaz when he's around. I think we both want to become stronger so we don't get trapped in a situation like that again.

"So how's training been?" I asked as we walked through the school.

"It's been okay. Itachi just got this huge mission so I can't train with him for awhile." Sasuke replied. He had his arms behind his head as he walked.

"What if I trained with you for awhile? Uncle Kaz says that he's going to be getting a mission in the next few days too, so I'll be alone too for a little while." I smiled.

"I dunno." Sasuke shrugged, his arms dropping as he avoided my gaze.

"Oh, come on! We haven't trained together in forever." I begged, but he kept his gaze away from me. "Do you think you're too strong for me now or something?" I questioned, stepping away and giving him a disbelieving look. "Are you afraid of hurting me? Because that's ridiculous." Sasuke kept his gaze away from me as we finally walked out of the building. "Fine. If you're not gonna answer my questions, then I'm gonna talk to someone who will respond." I declared as I began to run off. I suddenly stopped and turned back to him. "Just don't forget about tonight." I ordered.

I ran off to walk with Ino, Sakura, and Minako who ended up attacking me with question upon question about Sasuke. I brushed them off as we entered the field to begin our outside training with Iruka-sensei. It was kinda strange considering how we only do this at the end of the week, and we just got back from the weekend a day or two ago. Despite this, Iruka-sensei lead us into the field and split us into girls and boys. Then he explained what we'd be doing.

"Okay, class. You might be wondering why we're out here today. Well, the Hokage wants to see what everyone knows. So I decided to show him what we've learned about sparring in the last few weeks." Iruka-sensei explained. "We'll be doing this tournament style, and once everyone is done then you can all go home."

"Wait, really?" Ino and several other people in the class exclaimed.

"Yup. The girls will spar against the girls until one remains, and the boys will do the same. Once that's all done, we will have those remaining two spar against each other." the class awed at what Iruka-sensei was explained.

"That sounds like fun!"

"I can't wait."

"When do I get to go?"

"Now everyone." Iruka-sensei interrupted the exclamations from some of the students. "I want you to do your best, okay?"

"Okay!" everyone exclaimed.

Iruka-sensei then made us form a line alphabetically by our last name. Then he paired off the first two in the line and they fought. Whoever won that got to fight the next girl while the one who lost went to sit and observe. It was really fun watching everyone. Hinata ended up forfeiting against Sakura, but Sakura ended up losing the next match. Choji lost to that Shino kid, who lost several matches later to Kiba. Shikamaru gave up, just like Hinata. Then it got to me in the girl's line and I felt bad since I didn't get to see Naruto or Sasuke fight.

My first opponent was Minako. I was smaller so I managed to dodge almost all of her attacks. It got easier to do when she got frustrated with my dodging and became sloppier. She still managed to land a kick and I was thrown back. She took this opportunity to run at me with a punch aimed. I dodged the punch she threw forward, grabbed her arm, spun so that my back was against her stomach, and then used her momentum to throw her over my shoulder. She landed with a very loud thud and everyone stopped for a second to look at me.

"Ow." Minako groaned as she coughed and tried to catch her breath.

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, quickly moving to help her into a sitting position. "Uncle Kaz showed me how to do it, and told me to never use it during a sparring match because of something to do with breathing and broken ribs. But you were throwing all those punches and I was dodging and then my brain went into autopilot or something and I couldn't stop myself. I'm so sorry!" I found myself babbling as I did what my parents showed me to check someone's ribs.

"It's fine. Calm down." Minako laughed. "I lost fair and square. Just don't use that on anyone else, okay? They're not gonna be as strong as us Senju." Minako winked and I nodded.

"Minako, go take a seat. Tsukiko, get ready for the next match." Iruka-sensei ordered and we both nodded.

After that the matches went pretty fast. A single kick to the back of the legs or the stomach, of course not very hard, and the girls would go down. Some would take more like sweeping their legs out from under them and pinning them down so they couldn't fight back. I went easy on Ino, but she ended up pinning me down. She caught on to my sweeping under the leg thing, but it was easy to flip her so that I was pinning her down instead of the opposite. She seemed shocked, but honestly… she didn't have much muscle so it was easy to flip her over and hold her down. Then it was over, and we were waiting for the boys to finish.

"That was a good job girls. Just a few more matches between the boys and then we'll do the final match." Iruka-sensei told us as we waited.

"Wow, Tsukiko." Sakura awed as I took a seat beside her, Ino, Hinata, and Minako. "I didn't know you could spar like that."

"She's six months younger than Sasuke too." Minako added.

"It's all because of that dad of yours, Minako. If we had him as a teacher, I bet all of us would be at her level." Ino announced.

"If you guys wanted to come train with us some time I'm sure he wouldn't mind." I commented.

"Really!?" the three girls awed.

"You could come to Hinata." I added.

"I don't think my dad would like that too much." Hinata mumbled.

"Well, if you ever get his permission, then you're free to join." I smiled to her and she smiled back with a nod.

"Hey, look. Sasuke won his match!" Sakura exclaimed. This was followed by several of the other girls cheering for him as well.

"Now he's up against Naruto." Minako stated.

"Naruto's no match for him." Ino declared.

"Got that right." Sakura agreed.

"I think Naruto has a chance." I barely heard Hinata whisper.

"What was that Hinata?" Ino asked.

"Nothing." Hinata announced, her face turning bright red.

"Naruto has a bit of a fighting chance." I announced. "He trained with Uncle Kaz and I a few months ago."

"Really?" Sakura questioned, and I noticed a hint of disgust before all of our attention was given to the match before us.

Sasuke and Naruto were facing each other, and neither had made a move yet. Then out of nowhere, Naruto ran at Sasuke and shouting as he went. Sasuke stepped out of the way and Naruto tripped, falling on his face. As the class laughed, Naruto got back up and ran at Sasuke again. This time they remained close together as Sasuke dodged Naruto's punches. Sasuke then landed a single punch to Naruto's stomach. Naruto dropped back onto the ground and Sasuke quickly pinned him down aiming a punch for his face.

"That's the match." Iruka-sensei called. Sasuke stood up and Naruto quickly stood and glared at Sasuke before walking away to where the other boys sat.

"Guess it's my turn again." I stated before standing up and walking over to Iruka-sensei and Sasuke.

"Same rules as before. Whoever's down or out of the circle within the time allotted wins." Iruka-sensei explained before stepping away. "Now, fight!"

The kids around us began to cheer. Funny enough it seemed like all the girls cheered for Sasuke while all the boys cheered for me. I began walking in a circle, Sasuke mirroring me. We kept our eyes locked together and soon I tuned out the cheering around us. It was just Sasuke and me… but Sasuke wasn't one to make the first move.

I lunged forward, grabbing towards Sasuke's collar. He dodged and moved behind me. I noticed his foot move as if he was going to kick me down and I quickly spun. I grabbed onto the foot he had shoved towards me and yanked him down as I fell. He toppled forward as well, falling over me. I quickly flipped us so I could pin him down, but he shoved me back. I landed in a sitting position at his feet. We stared at each other for a moment before we both rushed to our feet. We began to circle again.

Sasuke launched forward this time. He had one arm back as if he was going to punch and the other reaching forward to grab. I dodged out of the way, but he managed to grab my shoulder with his outstretched hand. He then moved behind my back and wrapped his free arm, the one he had held back to punch, around my neck. I quickly moved my foot back around his ankle and yanked it forward. Soon we were both falling back, and Sasuke had no way to brace himself. He landed first, the air getting knocked out of him. I landed on top of him, making it even harder for him to breath. While he struggled to catch his breath, his grip weakened. I then spun around and pinned his arms over his head, placing all my weight on his hips and his wrists to keep him down.

"And that's the match!" Iruka-sensei called as the time ran out. I fell off to the side and laid on the ground next to Sasuke, panting. He was doing the same, finally managing to catch his breath.

"Good match." Sasuke declared, nudging my elbow with his.

"You too." I said as I elbowed back.

"And don't worry. I'll be the first one to your party tonight." Sasuke added and I smiled.

* * *

"Happy birthday, dear Tsukiko! Happy birthday to you!" everyone finished singing. They cheered as I blew out the eight candles before me.

"Now, let's open the gifts while I cut up the cake!" my mother announced as she picked up the cake and walked away.

"Mine first!" Ino cheered as she shoved her gift towards me. I ripped off the wrapping paper to find a picture frame with a blue and a light green flower pressed onto a piece of paper. Their stems were still there with some leaves at the bottom as a base. "My mom helped me make it. It's to match your eyes." Ino smiled.

"They're really pretty." I awed as my hand brushed the glass covering them.

"And I'll take that to make sure it doesn't break." my dad announced as he snatched the frame from my hands.

"I'm next." Minako declared as she slid a bag towards me. I opened the bag to find a teacup filled with little candies. "My mom wanted me to give you a teacup so we can have tea parties, but I thought you'd like candy more." Minako grinned and I nodded excitedly.

"I'll take that also." my dad commented as he slid the teacup away to set on the counter with the picture.

"I got one!" Kiba announced as he slid me his gift. I tore the wrapping off and found a stuffed dog. It looked like a small wolf.

"It's so soft!" I exclaimed, rubbing it against my face.  
"I wanna feel." Ino stated and I held it out for her. "It really is!" This additional comment lead to everyone else feeling it.

"My turn." Choji slid me a large bag. I reached in and pulled out a package of chocolate chip cookies. "My mom helped me make them."

"They look delicious." I announced as my dad snuck in to take the cookies to the counter.

"Mine goes with it." Shikamaru commented as he slid me an orange. We all turned and gave him a weird look. "What? We ran out of bags, and it'd be weird to wrap that." I shrugged and passed the orange to my dad.

"Here's mine." Sakura declared as she handed me her gift. I ripped off the wrapping and we all awed at the hummingbird necklace inside. It was mostly metal, but was lined with little gems of different colors. "Your mom told me you really like hummingbirds so I thought you'd like it." Before I could reply, Naruto spoke up.

"Mine's next!" Naruto laughed as he shoved a bag my way. It wasn't a fancy bag like everyone else's, just a small brown paper bag like you'd get groceries in.

"Naruto, you really didn't have to." I mumbled as I started to unwrap it. I'd been to his apartment once or twice to help him study so I understood the situation he was in. He was an orphan, and the Hokage gave him money to afford food. I didn't want him using that money on me so I had told him he didn't need to get me anything.

"It's okay, Iruka-sensei helped me pay for it." Naruto grinned. I nodded and reached into the bag. I pulled out a small black box. I opened it to find a pair of earrings. They were small gold studs in the shape of stars.

"Wow." I awed as Minako and Ino looked over my shoulders.

"They're so pretty." the two behind me awed.

"How much do you owe Iruka-sensei for this?" Minako questioned.

"I just have to clean the classroom for a couple weeks. It'll be no problem." Naruto shrugged, scratching the back of his head.

"One more gift, right?" my dad asked as he stood behind me.

"Yeah." I said as I moved to get it off the bookcase. "Hinata gave it to me when I went to ask her dad if she could come."

"He said no, right?" Kiba asked.

"Yup." I answered as I plopped back down into my seat. I then unwrapped it to find a light purple scarf.

"That's cool!" Choji cheered as I showed it to everyone.

"I think it's sweet since you're birthday is in January." Sakura commented.

"It's also the coldest month out of the year." Minako added with a laugh.

"Now it's time for cake!" my mom called as she walked back into the room with a platter filled with plates that each had an individual slice and a fork.

"Yay!" Everyone around me cheered and ate as I looked out the living room window. Sasuke hadn't come.

* * *

"You're late." I scowled down at the boy before me. "The party ended almost two hours ago, Sasuke." The boy was hunched over, leaning on his knees as he panted.

"Sorry. My mom made me go get a new gift." Sasuke managed to say between pants.

"Why?" I questioned.

"I dunno." Sasuke answered as he stood back up. "She said that I should get you something nice. I mean, I though the kunai I found for you was pretty cool, but she said that you needed something pretty."

"Pretty?" I asked.

"Yeah." he nodded and held out a box. "I didn't get enough time to wrap it."

I took the box from him as I gave him a weird look. I then opened the box to see what was inside. It was a necklace. It had a sturdy string that looped through a hole in small, sparkling, dark purple gem. Right above where the string looped through the gem, the string was tied into what looked like a knot. Then both ends of the string came up into an adjustable sliding knot that I had seen on some of my mother's bracelets.

"Pretty." I mumbled as I took it out of the box and stared at it.

"She thought you'd like it." Sasuke declared. "Let me help you put it on." He took the necklace from me and taught me how to deal with the sliding knot. He then loosened it enough so that it could fit over my head before tightening.

"How's it look?" I asked when I spun around.

"It looks great. It compliments your eyes." Sasuke replied and I smiled. "Oh! I also have gifts from Itachi and Shisui." Sasuke pulled out another bag and handed it to me.

I opened the bag to find a sheathed blade, a shuriken, and a kunai. The shuriken had six points instead of the four points like the ones we were usually given. The kunai had a special handle with 'Senju' engraved in it. The sheathed blade was short, and if it weren't for the gold band showing the edge of the handle it would have looked like a stick of wood.

"The shuriken is from Shisui, and he also took responsibility for the kunai I picked out. The blade is a tanto blade and it's from Itachi." Sasuke explained

"Nice… My dad will absolutely love me having these." I laughed.

"My dad was hesitant about me even getting them for you." Sasuke laughed as well.

"Well, thank you." I nodded to him.

"Yeah and happy birthday." Sasuke waved before walking home.

"See ya in class tomorrow." I called as I waved back.

* * *

"Where's my lunch? I'm gonna be late!" I called as I ran into the kitchen and straight to the fridge.

"I already took it out." I spun around to see my mom holding my bento box.

"You can't just give it to her that easily. She unprepared! She should suffer a little for sleeping in too late." my father chuckled from the kitchen table. He was reading a bunch of work papers while drinking a cup of coffee.

"Your so mean!" I stuck out my tongue. He immediately put down his cup and stuck out his tongue too.

"Will you two knock it off?" my mom laughed a bit as she handed me the bento box. "And I must say that the necklace Sasuke gave you looks very nice with your dress today." I looked down at the light blue colored dress that had a thin black belt at my waist.

"Really?" I asked as I looked at her and then my dad.

"Of course! You're gonna be the prettiest girl in school. Now get going!" my dad ordered.

"Got it. See ya after school!" I called as I ran out of the kitchen. I snagged my jacket and the scarf from Hinata as I made my way out of the house.

I ran down the streets, swerving between and around people to avoid collision. When I finally made it to the school, the courtyard was empty and it sounded like classes were starting. I quickly ran up the stairs and through the halls to my class, but came to a screeching halt when I saw Iruka-sensei and the Hokage standing outside the door. They had been talking quietly, but went silent as they saw me. I slowly walked up to them before bowing.

"Sorry I'm late Iruka-sensei. I'll get to my seat quickly." I said before moving to enter the class.

"Actually, the Hokage would like to talk to you." Iruka-sensei told me. "Good luck." Iruka-sensei nodded to me before sliding the door open, entering the class, and then closing the door behind him. I barely caught a glimpse of Sakura sitting in the spot I usually did by Sasuke with Minako on her other side. Both Sasuke and Minako had met my eyes before the door had closed as if they had been expecting me.

"Tsukiko." I turned away from the closed door and towards the Hokage.

"Yes?" I asked as he bent toward to my level.

"It has come to my attention that you seem bored with your classes." the Hokage began.

"Not really bored, but Iruka-sensei has to give me more homework than everyone else because I get it all done before everyone else." I explained.

"He told me just that." the Hokage nodded. "So, I'd like to take you to a class where you and the other students are at the same level. Is that okay?"

"... What about this class?" I hesitated.

"You'd be going to the new class instead of this one from now on." He answered. "Let me take you there and introduce you myself." the Hokage reached out a hand and I stared at it for a moment as I processed what happened.

"Okay." I nodded, taking his hand. He lead me up another flight of stairs and down a hall before stopping at a door. He slid it open and nudged me forward.

I stepped forward into a room filled with kids that looked so much older than I did. They all looked so much bigger and taller, but almost half the class was empty. All eyes were on me. Just like my first day of class nearly two years ago.

"Right on time." My eyes flew to the front of the class where a women stood. She was dressed just like Iruka-sensei with her black hair tied up into high ponytail that still brushed her shoulders. "Class, the Hokage is here to bring us a new student. She's from a lower class so she already knows the drill, but I want you all to still be on your best behavior and help her get settled in."

"I'll be off then." the Hokage nodded before closing the door between us.

"My name is Akari, and I'll be your new Sensei." the woman introduced as she bent down to my level with a smile. "Why don't you introduce yourself to the class?" she asked, sweeping her hand out to the students watching us.

"My name is Tsukiko Senju… it's nice to meet you all." I paused, still caught up in the sudden change of scenery.

* * *

 **Hey!**

 **Happy late new year everyone!**

 **It's been awhile…**

 **Sorry for not updating, but I got hit with a massive wave of ideas… for a different story.**

 **But now I am back!**

 **How'd you guys like this chapter? I didn't really hear from anyone about the last chapter so I'd really like some input.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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